HOUSTON, 31 January 2004 — Until the Super Bowl spotlight fell on the Carolina Panthers this week, the team’s best known player was a wide receiver jailed for up to 24 years and its most talked-about season one of staggering failure.
Come tomorrow, though, the NFL’s sorriest franchise will have an opportunity to forget years of hurt by beating the New England Patriots and claiming its first championship.
A victory over the heavily favored Pats would cap one of the most remarkable turnarounds in NFL history.
Two seasons ago the 1-15 Panthers were the league’s laughing stock, fodder for comedians and late-night talk show hosts. But Carolina fans found nothing funny in a list of team tragedies and setbacks.
Rae Carruth, once a Panther favorite, will watch this year’s Super Bowl and many more from a prison cell after being convicted of conspiring to kill his pregnant girlfriend.
Popular former running back Fred Lane died three years ago after being shot by his wife in a domestic dispute.
Kerry Collins, the franchise’s first-ever draft pick reached the Super Bowl but not with Carolina, having taken the New York Giants to the NFL championship game in 2001 after being jettisoned by the Panthers.
In 1998, linebacker Kevin Greene was suspended one game for attacking assistant coach Kevin Steele on the sidelines.
Wide receiver Steve Smith was also suspended one game after breaking the nose of teammate Anthony Bright during a team meeting.
Even now, on the brink of their greatest achievement, the Panthers find it hard to free themselves of a grimy past.
Defensive linemen Julius Peppers and Brentson Buckner have been hit with suspensions after falling foul of the NFL’s substance abuse policies. The Panthers hit rock bottom in 2001 when they stumbled through an entire season with only one win.
The franchise floundering and fans near revolt, Panthers owner Jerry Richardson handed New York Giants assistant coach John Fox the daunting task of bringing his team back to respectability.
